Partnership with Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative

October 01, 2007 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ichor Medical Systems, whose advanced electroporation system is being
tested worldwide for its ability to increase the effectiveness of DNA
drugs and vaccines, has entered into an agreement with two distinguished
research organizations to test a promising HIV vaccine, ADVAX, in human
volunteers. Under the agreement, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
(ADARC) will evaluate the ability of Ichor’s
TriGrid Delivery System (TriGrid) to increase the immunogenicity of the
vaccine. And the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) will
provide the DNA vaccine, which has already been tested in humans using
conventional delivery methods, and provide selected monitoring and data
management support. The ADVAX vaccine was developed by IAVI and ADARC.

The goal of these studies is to determine if the promising immune
responses observed when ADVAX was delivered into animals with Ichor’s
TriGrid technology can also be observed in humans. Establishing
protective immunity against HIV is particularly challenging because it
will likely require both antibody and T cell responses. And while DNA
vaccines may be well suited to elicit such responses, delivering
sufficient vaccine into cells where the vaccine can do its work has been
a stumbling block. The TriGrid dramatically improves intracellular
delivery of DNA vaccines over conventional injection, thus enhancing the
magnitude and breadth of immune response.

“This is another example of the wide range of
applications of our TriGrid technology,” said
Ichor CEO Bob Bernard. “The TriGrid platform
is already being evaluated for the delivery of a cancer vaccine in
patients with melanoma. It is also being utilized by the Department of
Defense for the development of novel vaccines against a number of
bacterial and viral pathogens. Now it will be used to deliver an HIV
vaccine developed by the outstanding research team at ADARC. We are
fortunate to be working with such a prestigious team and are pleased to
give them support with our enabling technology.”

“We’ve had a
long-standing collaboration with Ichor, covering a variety of infectious
diseases. In our experience, the TriGrid is a powerful technology
platform, dramatically increasing immune response to DNA vaccines in
pre-clinical studies,” said Dr. David Ho,
Scientific Director and CEO of ADARC. “We’re
pleased to be working with Ichor to move towards a clinical evaluation
of the combined ADVAX and TriGrid technologies.”

During the past five years, Ichor has been awarded over $3.5 million in
Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases to advance the development of DNA
vaccines for infectious diseases. Additionally, Ichor was recently
awarded two government contracts together valued at over $3 million to
assist the Naval Medical Research Center and the United States Army
Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in the development of
infectious disease and biodefense vaccines.

About Ichor Medical Systems

Ichor Medical Systems, a privately-held biotech company based in San
Diego, CA, has developed the first and only integrated and fully
automated system for electroporation-mediated DNA administration. The
TriGrid™ Delivery System enables safe,
effective, and reproducible clinical application of electroporation in a
manner capable of supporting development and commercialization of
DNA-based products. Ichor is developing a number of these DNA-based
products and is collaborating with partners on three continents in a
wide range of pre-clinical and clinical studies exploring the potential
treatment of diseases such as atherosclerosis, avian flu, hepatitis B,
HIV, melanoma, multiple sclerosis, and others.

Ichor’s current research partners include
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Bayhill Therapeutics, Genexine, the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Pasteur Institute, Pharmexa-Epimmune,
Rockefeller University, The Scripps Research Institute, the U.S. Army
Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the Naval
Medical Research Center (NMRC) and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease
Organization (VIDO). For further information, visit www.ichorms.com.

About Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC)

The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center is the largest private HIV/AIDS
research center in the world and a leader in the search for a vaccine
and a cure. Founded in 1991, ADARC focuses on basic research efforts to
increase understanding of the structure and function of HIV and to
define the mechanism by which it destroys the immune system.

About International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

IAVI is a global not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure
the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines
for use throughout the world. Founded in 1996 and operational in 24
countries, IAVI and its network of collaborators research and develop
vaccine candidates. IAVI’s financial and
in-kind supporters include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for the National Institutes of
Health, The John D. Evans Foundation, The New York Community Trust, the
James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust, The Rockefeller Foundation, The
Starr Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; the
Governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway,
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the Basque Autonomous
Government as well as the European Union; multilateral organizations
such as The World Bank; corporate donors including BD (Becton, Dickinson
& Co.), Continental Airlines, Google Inc., Henry Schein, Inc., Merck &
Co., Inc. and Pfizer Inc; leading AIDS charities such as Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Until There's A Cure Foundation; other
private donors such as The Haas Trusts; and many generous individuals
from around the world. For more information, see www.iavi.org.